Take four: the Gulf Cup 27 curse strikes two more Saudi stars

"Al-Akhdar" is struggling

Saudi Arabia's injury curse rolls on at the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27", with two more stars struck down.

The Saudis faced Oman on Saturday at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah, in the second round of the Gulf tournament's group stage.

Two players limped out during the game. Midfielder Alaa Al Haji went first, leaving at half-time and making way for Ziyad Al-Johani.

Defender Hassan Kadesh followed midway through the second half. A crunching challenge in midfield forced Greek coach Georgios Donis to withdraw him and send on Jihad Zikri.

So the run of injuries goes on. Goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi was the last victim, hobbling off in the previous match against Kuwait before being ruled out of the rest of the tournament.

Mohammed Al-Qahtani missed the Oman clash altogether, having sat out the team's group training over the past two days with abdominal pains.

All of this leaves Saudi Arabia in a bind heading into their third group match. They meet Iraq next Tuesday at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah.